Technological Change and Population Growth

Stage 1: Hunting and Gathering

Stage 1: Hunting and Gathering

▪In the earliest stages of human history people were nomadic hunters and gathers

▪Women and children gathered food which provided a meager but reliable source of nutrition

▪Men went hunting which furnished occasional feasts but not with regularity

▪Feasts of meat allowed people to build up reserves of fat and survive hungry times

Stage 1: Hunting and Gathering

▪People were always at the edge of starvation▪Very lagre area of land was needed to support a small

population▪Therefore the world’s carrying capacity was low and world

population was limited to a few tens of millions▪Before a substantial increase could occur, a new means of

support had to be developed

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution

▪The discovery of agriculture remains the most important invention in human history

▪Without it, none of the cultural and technological advances since would have been possible

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution

▪Agriculture was first practiced almost 10 000 years ago in what is now Israel, Jordan, southern Turkey and western Iran

▪It later spread to China, India, parts of Africa (notably Egypt) and the Americas

Stage 2: The Agricultural Revolution

▪The most important result of farming was the creation of a food surplus which had some staggering impacts

▪The agricultural revolution had a profound impact on the world’s population

▪Much more food could be produced for each square kilometre of land, increasing the carrying capacity significantly

▪Specific inventions increased productivity, from basic irrigation to Jethro Tull’s invention of the seed drill in 1701

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪By the 1700's agriculture and the production of manufactured goods in more technologically developed parts of the world (e.g. western Europe) had become quite advanced

▪This was limited by the first “energy crisis”, where the only source of energy was muscle power, either human or domesticated animal

▪The true beginning of the Industrial Revolution was the development of non- muscular sources of power

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪The earliest sources of non- muscular power were windmills and water wheels - clean, renewable energy providers

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪Coal power was developed during the latter half of the 18th century and it provided an exponential increase in the available energy

▪A century later oil was found to be even more efficient and began to replace coal in many applications (e.g. locomotives)

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪These new power sources changed the nature of life

▪One person’s efforts were multiplied many times by the use of external power sources

▪One’s physical strength became less important than one’s skills and intellect

▪The agricultural economy was transformed by these new technologies

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪In 1837 John Deere introduced the steel plow

▪Without this plow agriculture in Canada and the United States would not have developed as much

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪Because of this new invention fewer farm workers were needed

▪The amount of food produced was greater than before▪Surplus agricultural workers migrated to cities or sometimes,

new countries

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution

▪Migration to cities began the great urban boom

Stage 3: The Industrial Revolution▪Immigration to the

colonies (later, independent countries) greatly changed the population in those parts of the world

▪Immigration continues to change the face of Canada today

The Industrial Revolution greatly increased the carrying capacity of the earth